Man forces biryani seller in Delhi to shut shop on Diwali, police file case

In the video, a man is heard abusing and making derogatory comments towards employees of Aalam Muradabadi Biryani in north Delhi.

A man, who claimed to be a member of a right-wing group, allegedly forced an eatery in north Delhi’s Burari to down shutters on Diwali, the owner of the shop said on Saturday, a day after the police registered a case on their own, as a video of the incident did the rounds online.

In a video of the incident, the man is heard threatening employees for opening the eatery, which sells non-vegetarian food, on Diwali (Representative photo)

In the video, a man is heard abusing and making derogatory comments towards employees of Aalam Muradabadi Biryani in Burari’s Sant Nagar.

The man in the video identified himself as Naresh Suryavanshi, and claimed to be a member of a right-wing group. In it, he is heard threatening employees for opening the eatery, which sells non-vegetarian food, on Diwali.

HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video but the owner of the eatery, Makrub Alam, said the video was recorded at his shop. Other shopkeepers stepped in, after which the man fled, said Alam.

“He seemed drunk. There were three people inside my shop. Around 7.30pm, he came and threatened us for opening the shop on Diwali day. He claimed to be from a right-wing group. All our Hindu brothers (other shopkeepers) came to the shop and defended me. They scolded that man, after which he fled. I did not want the issue to be blown out of proportion and shut my shop that evening. It is open now. We had not seen him before and have not seen him after that evening,” said Alam. He said the man recorded the video himself.

Police said they had not received any distress call and were not informed of the incident, but filed a case suo motu on Friday, after the video went viral.

“He [the man in the video] is not from our area,” said Alam. “He must have posted it on social media. On Friday, the station house officer of the local station visited me and started the probe. He said the police would register a case and find that man,” he added.

Deputy commissioner of police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said, “We have registered a case under IPC Section 285A. The probe is on.”

Alam said he has run the shop for six years, and had never been harassed before. “We did not call the police initially because the market association dealt with him at the spot,” he added.